Mentor Minute

This chart at its very basic level shows us that we are supporting 60 teachers in our school department. Let's just say that each of these teachers works directly with 25 students (even though we know for our secondary teachers that number is significantly greater)! This means that the work that Mentors are doing directly impacts over 1,500 students. Now that is something to celebrate!

Let us now consider leveling the playing field a bit. Although Colleen and Ana should be recognized for taking heavy caseloads (Shout out to Colleen and Ana!!!), we know this is not ideal. How can we work to improve upon that next year so our colleagues are not as overwhelmed?

On average we are rarely meeting with administrators! How can meeting with administrators be beneficial? Do these meetings always have to focus on our Mentees?

How might we meet with administrators and maintain the sacred confidential relationship with our Mentees?

Consider meeting with administrators once a quarter. Share some valuable Mentor Program insight like the types of tools you are using, the topics you seem to cover the most, and the areas in which you think new teachers can benefit in receiving admin support. Pick your principal's brain while you are at it. What do they want to see happening in classrooms? All of this can be done without speaking directly to what is happening in your Mentee's classroom. Your building principal should know about the great work that you are doing and the support that our newest teachers are receiving!

As clarified by Dr Chan-Remka, you should not be asked to sit in on meetings that a principal is having with a Mentee (unless the Mentee is asking you for that support). That is not your role and can easily compromise trust in your Mentor/Mentee relationship.

On average, we are spending about 45 minutes of our week planning for our mentor work! I spy an outlier....perhaps you are supporting a high number of Mentees! Well done all around. Despite having your own classroom and your own set of needs, you are making time to plan for this important work.

Remember that sometimes the best support you can give is pointing a colleague in the right direction. The answers don't always have to come from you. Connect Mentees with other knowledgeable staff members and recommend relevant resources. Just be sure to follow up!

On average we have used between 0 to 5 tools in our mentor work. What tools are you using the most? Stuck using the same tool? How can using more tools improve our impact?

If you need a reminder about the tools we have introduced, try revisiting past Mentor Minutes and take a look. Consider making a tool checklist for each Mentor and challenge yourself to use a new tool during your next visit. Tools are reflective of your observation and should provide non-biased evidence of what can be seen and heard in the classroom. Tools help you plan for next steps and can be instrumental in goal setting. In the next few months we will highlight a few more tools that can be used to provide meaningful feedback.

Looking for a challenge....Share a used tool on our Goggle Community. Remove any teacher and/or student names and post a picture of it and give us a prompt. For example: post your completed Movement Tool and ask us: What do you notice about this teachers practice during this lesson? What might he or she want to consider moving forward?

On average, we have completed about 1.5 classroom observations per Mentee. We shared that time, scheduling conflicts, and Mentee interest are our biggest challenges. How might we shift this number over the next few months? Consider the value of the classic observation; it provides the most accurate account of what is happening in the classroom. How might technology help you in completing this task? How do we get Mentees to buy into this nerve racking experience?

You may consider simply carving time out of your already busy day. Schedule the observation right away and select an agreed upon focus. Write it into your plan book, book your teaching partner, and remind your Mentee leading up to the observation. If they happen to be out, consider going into the room anyway! Bring the Classroom Environment rubric and collect some evidence of what you see around the room OR stay and watch the substitute teach a lesson while collecting evidence on student behavior or student work. There is always something to collect and reflect on! More often than not, Mentees will lead you to believe everything is going "really well" in their classroom. While at times this may be true, it may also not be as accurate as we would hope OR consider the fact that their opinion of "really well" may not be completely aligned with what we know to be effective teaching and learning as evidenced by our rubric of standards. Point being....nothing beats physically getting into a classroom and observing teaching and learning. When technology works, it can be an amazing tool! If you are adventurous and your Mentee is game, suggest the taping of a lesson. You can watch it later that day and provide meaningful feedback via email or phone. Reach out to Mike Sexton or Heather Neil for support in holding a virutal observation.

Our collective goal is to increase observations by the next time we meet again!

While some of us seem to be balancing things easily, others are feeling the strain. Is this what you expected to see? Is this a result of caseload numbers and/or your own classroom needs? Take comfort in the fact that if you are feeling the strain, you are among good company and if you have mastered the balance, then you too are not alone. How can we help those of you on the right of the continuum for the remainder of the school year? What do we need to change for next year? Can the Google Community help in any way? Can you use your time differently so as to cause less disruption?

Consider blocking out one day and getting to all of your Mentees. Perhaps you can hold one meeting for all of your Mentees before or after school or scaffold your support so that those most in need are getting more of your time. If its all or none of those things, always remember you have the support of program leaders and your fellow Mentor Family....reach out to us and we can try to help!

On average we are spending about 1.75 hours working directly with Mentees each week. This combined with our average prep times means we are working hard! Pat yourself on the back as you are the reason why this program is making such great progress in such a small amount of time. You shared that Mentee apprehension and choice, along with large caseloads, have been a challenge.

Consider this: If we increase our amount of observations then we will increase the time we spend directly working with Mentees. In addition, we have shared that a scaffolded approach to support (1st years vs 3rd years vs change in cert vs prior teaching experience) may help alleviate some of our time constraints.

On average we are spending about 30 minutes on a post observation reflection or meeting. This is good news!

For those of you on the left of the continuum, avoid spending time in a Mentee's classroom without arranging for a follow up conversation, even if it is just 5-10 minutes. One possible alternative is filling out a tool with evidence of what you observed so at the very least the Mentee has some feedback from you. For those of you far right, consider how you might get that time down to a more reasonable amount. Long amounts of time spent reflecting may be very productive (you know how that works...when you are both on a roll and the time just flies by!), however if those long debriefs are causing you and your Mentee stress, then consider a shorter amount of time. Using tools and having a focus for your meeting may help decrease your time.

We are spending an average of 40 minutes on a classroom observation. Perfecto!

Although shorter observations can work they aren't ideal. Long observations can be overwhelming for the observer! By committing to a certain observation time (lets say 30-35 minutes) you can then build in 10-15 minutes of post observation prep time for yourself. Take a look at the evidence you collected. Begin to frame your debrief. What questions might you pose based on the evidence you collected? Doing this may also help with cutting down that debrief time!

It appears that our Mentees are getting a variety of support! In looking at this data we can assume that Mentors are tailoring their support to meet the individual needs of the Mentee. Certain times of the year call for a certain focus.

How can you ensure that you are providing your Mentee with a variety of support?

Consider how this chart speaks to your support with your Mentees? Have you found yourself stuck in one particular box? Many times Mentees will pigeon hole themselves into one of these four boxes and its our responsibility as Mentors to move on to different areas. At the heart of weak classroom management may be poor lesson planning and preparation. Be sure to move in and out of these four areas when providing support to your Mentees!